She unfailingly offers guests a cold — or warm — beverage when they visit her home. She minds her manners no matter how strange or hostile the company. And she rarely leaves the house without makeup in place.

But also she is a woman of talents not to be underestimated. She is open-minded, perhaps to a fault, and can use her skills and strengths to overcome the nastiest of opponents.

On the printed pages of eight novels by Charlaine Harris, Sookie is the telepathic heroine who engages in love and war with vampires, humans and other creatures magical or mundane.

On television, she is the center of the HBO series True Blood, brought to life by actress Anna Paquin.

“What speaks to me is that she is always trying hard to do her best, that she is courageous, that she is loyal, that she has moments of weakness as we all do,” Harris said in a telephone interview last week from her home in Arkansas.

From Victorian ladies mesmerized by the powers of vampire royalty to Valley girl slayers and lovestruck teenagers, women and vampires have mingled on pages and screens for more than a century.

Harris’ creation offers a magical and mysterious twist on traditional vampire stories. Sookie is a waitress from a small town in north Louisiana who solves mysteries and saves her friends from certain peril. Unlike the dark underground of bloodsucker history, Harris’ vampires are an ethnic minority of sorts who have “come out of the coffin” to claim a place in society.

Tuesday, Harris will be in Houston to discuss Sookie, vampires and what it’s like to hear the words she wrote spoken on TV. Her talk at the Houston Public Library downtown was brought together in part by Murder by the Book on Bissonnet.

Indeed, the store and its employees have long been tied to Sookie and her creator.

Harris’ first Sookie Stackhouse novel, Dead Until Dark, sputtered into existence in 2001 with some help by Dean James, then the general manager of Murder By the Book.

Harris’ agent wasn’t keen on the idea of a vampire series, but bowed to James’ recommendation for the book and his knowledge of the genre and the market.

“I read it practically in one sitting and said, ‘This is wonderful,’ ” said James, who now works as a librarian in the medical center.

After two years, Dead Until Dark found a publisher, Harris said.

“The book might not have been published if he didn’t love it,” Harris said.

James was rewarded for his support with an acknowledgement at the start of the book. But his namesake in the book and show, Dean, is a very important collie. To give away more would spoil a surprise.

“Dean just has got sweet eyes, and I thought that was a sweet tribute to him,” Harris said.

Employees of Murder by the Book have appeared in Harris’ other works. But the 26-year-old new owner of the store, McKenna Jordan, gets a nod in two of the Sookie books. Her name is used for a minor character, a clothing-store clerk.

“I might just say, ‘Can I help you,’ but I’m in there,” Jordan said.

Harris has been connected with the store since the beginning of her career, before she struck success with Sookie Stackhouse, she said. Back then, she traveled on her own dime to promote her work and stayed with the store’s former owner, Martha Farrington.

After more than two decades of writing, Sookie has taken Harris to best-seller lists. Now the publisher picks up the publicity tab. The first Sookie books were originally published in paperback. But the newer ones started in hardcover.

The HBO show, by Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball, has earned a dedicated fan base and two Golden Globe nominations, one for best television drama and another for Sookie. Well, Paquin.

In 2007, the publisher ACE Books shipped about 230,000 copies of the books to stores and customers. True Blood has boosted book sales. Since it first aired in the fall, the publisher sent out 2.3 million copies of the paperbacks, said Jodi Rosoff, associate director of publicity for ACE. Before the holidays, special box sets of all eight novels sold about 130,000 copies.

“It was successful before the show,” Rosoff said. “She moved from paperback to hardcover, and that is always a sign of success. But since the show there is a whole new audience that I don’t think would have gone to this type of book.”

Part of the success of the novels, and the show, is Sookie, Jordan said. Sookie’s got some strange powers; after all, she can read minds. But she is also a mid-20s everywoman: She fluctuates between a size 8 and a 10, has boyfriend trouble, struggles with a crazy family she mostly loves, and sometimes gets mad at her boss.

“She’s a Southern woman,” said Jordan, a League City native. “Charlaine is also a Southern woman. There certainly are a lot of authors who might not be from the South and they get it wrong.”

Part of the appeal is that Sookie is an odd duck even in her own hometown, James said.

Through the series of novels, she comes into her own personally and professionally as she discovers a world outside of the fictional Bon Temps, La., where she is valued for her smarts and admired by men, vampires and other magical creatures.

“I think a lot of people can identify with that,” James said. “Lots of people have felt that way.”

In the show, Sookie takes a different turn, said Anne Kimbol, a research lawyer by trade and an employee at Murder By The Book and fantasy and mystery reader by passion. Sookie is much more naive in the show and lacks the edge she has in the books, Kimbol said.

But then again, “they very much HBOed the story line,” she said.

“There is so much sex that you don’t get a lot of plot in there,” said Kimbol, who does not consider herself a prude.

Harris, however, is pleased with the show and thrilled to have Ball and HBO take it on, she said.

“I didn’t want the books diluted,” she said. “They are a mixture of blood and sex and some really sweet moments, and I didn’t want to lose any of that.”

Ball had prepared her for some of the big changes when he moved her story to the small screen, Harris said. So the first time Harris watched the show she was able to hear the familiar words she wrote and feel the suspense of plot and character changes to her original.

“I understand why he made them, and, of course, it makes for a different story,” Harris said. “So I found myself surprised by my own work, which was actually kind of fun.”

After years of hard work, Harris said she was pleased to have found success with the Sookie books. The television show just adds a little more fun to the mix.

“This is just like getting a whole bunch of gravy poured over my biscuits,” Harris said.

WOMEN AND VAMPIRES

Sookie Stackhouse isn’t the first woman to encounter the bloodsucking kind. For more than a century, women and vampires have mingled in popular culture as enemies, friends and lovers. Here is a sampling of the other women of the tradition, and why they are no Sookie Stackhouse.

• Mina : Depending on the Dracula • version, this woman is either the count’s eternal love or a mesmerized bride. In the Francis Ford Coppola film she is played by Winona Ryder. In most versions, she lacks Sookie’s spunk.

• Star: In the 1980s vampire flick The Lost Boys • , Jami Gertz plays an object of desire for boys and vampires.

• Buffy: In the movie original, Buffy was a Valley girl slayer who could work magic with hair spray. In Joss Whedon’s television show, Sarah Michelle Gellar puts vampires to rest with the help of her Scooby Gang. Though she has her affection for certain vampires, as does Sookie, Buffy’s tussles with them are mostly of the stake ’em sort.

• Selene: Technically Selene from the film Underworld • is a vampire herself, very un-Sookie. As played by Kate Beckinsale, she races around in tight black outfits slaying bad-guys and saving loved ones.

• Bella Swan: The vampire lover in the spotlight, Swan is the star of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight • series of books and the hit movie of 2008. Bella is a lovestruck teen who is willing to give her all to vampire Edward Cullen. Sookie’s older, 26, and knows the pitfalls of trusting vampire loves.

• Anita Blake: A vampire hunter from Laurel K. Hamilton’s series of books. Blake is much more tough broad than Southern lady. Some say the later novels head well out of the R rating range for sex and violence.

I'm posting the episode recaps from the HBO site. I think we should have them in our archive; they are really long so I will also post them in their entirety as a word document to our scribd site. I think they are worth carefully re-examining for clues!

Sookie stands in Dawn's apartment, shocked and terrified as she looks at her friend's limp body. The sound of breaking glass startles her, and she turns to find Jason in the doorway, standing over a broken bottle of booze and holding flowers. Jason tries to comfort Sookie, but they're both interrupted by Faye LeFebvre, a neighbor who witnessed Jason's argument with Dawn the night before. Jason insists the fight - and gunfire - had nothing to do with her murder, but as the police arrive and a crowd gathers outside, things aren't looking so good for him.

Andy and Sheriff Dearborn arrive and take a statement from Faye about the incident, while Sookie's horrified to hear thoughts ranging from the coroner's appraisal of Dawn's breasts to Jason's worrying that there's "no way they're gonna let me walk again." Sure enough, Andy cuffs Jason, leads him to a waiting cruiser and locks him in the backseat, where he quickly remembers he's carrying a flask of vampire blood. Digging the vial from his hip pocket, Jason quaffs the contraband.

Sam, who happens to be Dawn's landlord in addition to her boss, pulls up and walks over to check on Sookie. She assures him he should open the bar - on a day people will need a stiff drink - before he has to rush off to open Dawn's storage area for the police.

"The mission of Sisters in Crime is to promote the professional development and advancement of women crime writers to achieve equality in the industry."

What an important mission we have. We join together as sisters and brothers in crime to advance this mission and see our beloved mystery genre blossom. We’re all here because we love reading mysteries, we love to celebrate them, and we want to do our part to make sure the crime writing community continues to grow and welcome women authors as equal partners in the field.....We welcome new board members Julianne Balmain (aka Nadia Gordon) as our Monitoring Project Coordinator, Cathy Pickens as the head of public relations, Robin Burcell as the chapter liaison, and Charlaine Harris as a member-at-large. All four dove right into our meetings this fall with enthusiasm and a willingness to go above and beyond their roles.

I think this Staten Island paper is just trying to figure out the allure ...they might try reading some of the books, watching some of the shows and movies, just an idea...

Blood-sucking monsters of today are seen as romantic and cool

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While vampires have historically been seen as blood-sucking monsters, today they are increasingly seen as romantic -- even cool.

"Vampires, to me, are a wonderful mix between horror and fantasy," said Kelly Reebe, a senior at St. Joseph Hill Academy. "The concept of creatures of night and darkness, along with having sharpened senses, makes them completely interesting. Then, obviously, the fact that they are created to be alluring, and perfect in their appearances, only makes them more appealing Vampires can be found in various areas of pop culture -- from movies, to TV shows, to books.

Consider Edward Cullen of the "Twilight" series, written by Stephenie Meyer. This vampire is a high-school heart-throb, with bronze-brown hair and golden eyes.

"The 'Twilight' books are written so well, and they have a bit of everything a teen would look for in a book -- which is why the series is amazingly popular," said Colleen Muray, an assistant manager at the Borders store in the Staten Island Mall.

And "Twilight" is not the only popular book to focus on vampires. For example, "Vampire Academy," written by Richelle Mead, and "Night's Kiss," written by Amanda Ashley, are also read by many teens.

Vampires also make appearances in TV shows, such as: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997); "Angel" (1999), a spin-off of "Buffy"; "Forever Knight" (1989); "Moonlight" (2007), and the new HBO series, "True Blood."

Mangas like "Vampire Knight" and "Vampire Kisses" are also casting vampires as non-evil creatures, dating and even protecting the human race from "evil" vampires.

Today's vampires even have their own fashion -- and it doesn't involve someone going around in a black cape!

The fashion is more a mix of gothic and old Victorian style. Included are accessories such as chains, choke collars, and anything with skulls on it. Some teens also get custom-made fangs or their eyeteeth sharpened to look more like vampires.

Rae'Ann Gifford, a junior at Port Richmond High School, said she finds the vampire fashion elegant.

"It represents me and what I like," she explained. "Vampire fashion is also a preserved gothic style .... It's like something old but modified to this day and age. Yet somehow my grandmother doesn't like it."

And there are even vampire fan clubs. Many vampire-lovers visit such Web sites as www.vampirefreaks.com, which includes a chat room, music reviews and more.

Tiffany Rizzi, a sophomore at St. John Villa Academy, said she believes vampires aren't killing monsters.

"As in any tale, there's another side of a story," she said. "A different perspective can lead to the reconsideration of such opinions. Especially because, they're still people at heart."

Every geek's a little bit sexy, somehow. Maybe it's the glasses, the hot talk about black holes or the Asperger's-like obsession with sci-fi, science or gadgets.

But which nerds really moved the sexy needle in 2008?

Welcome to the fourth annual Wired.com Sexiest Geeks contest. Each year we seed the list with some of the smartest, sexiest and most "wired" men and women on the scene, then throw open the competition to our readers.

Anna Paquin

She plays a psychic, not a physicist, on HBO's vampire hit "True Blood." Her nude scenes on the show, plus her leftover geek factor from the "X-Men" flicks, make her a make her a rising star.